//------------------------------//
// Epilogue 
// Story: Ice Fall 
// by Bluespectre 
//------------------------------//

 

EPILOGUE

 
“Your Majesty, the representative of the northern tribes is…”
 
“Chancellor please, I’m tired, it’s late…” Celestia walked on towards her chambers, the magenta coated mare hurrying along after her,
 
“But the Elder’s been waiting here for…”
 
“Chancellor!” Celestia snapped, rounding on the startled mare, “Don’t you realise what I have had to do today? Do you have any idea…” she trailed off at the wide eyed look of fright on the Chancellor’s face. The Princess took a breath and rubbed her eyes with her foreleg, “Look, I’m sorry, but I am really in no condition to see to the Elder right now, and i’m sure they would prefer to see me fresh and alert. Please, Chancellor, ask the Elder to stay as our guest tonight and make sure they are well looked after.” She gave her wings a quick shake, “I’m going to bed.”
 
Her hoofsteps echoed down the halls. Without carpets, tapestries or pictures, the immensity of the palace felt cold…empty. It seemed strangely fitting considering the sobre tone of the day’s events. Still, she’d have a word with the designers in the morning and see if they could move things along. This was, after all, supposed to be her home.
 
Home.
 
All this time, all these years, she’d fought the emptiness in her heart and now it was the emptiness of the new palace. It was supposed to be a place of light and joy, a focal point for the new capital city, and yet it just didn’t seem to feel ‘homely’ to her at all. Maybe some day it would, after some personal trimmings and colour had been added. She liked her freedom, her space to be who she was, but…why did this place feel so empty? Why did she feel so alone? She pushed open the double doors to her chambers, barely noticing the guards outside snapping to attention. Gods, she was so tired! Reaching, up, she unbuckled the gorget, allowing it to drop on the rug and used her magic to float the crown off her head and over to the bookcase. The Princess yawned expansively, dropping to her haunches and knocking the crown away from her as it clattered off the shelf and onto the floor by her hooves. Wonderful! What a time to give Lilly the day off…she groaned and pulled herself into the bed, kicked off her golden hoof covers and let herself drift away on a tide of sleep.
 
Rush looked into her eyes with his usual gruff expression. His eyes, so alien, and yet still mirroring the real stallion inside, made her heart melt. She could smell him, that strangely musky scent that made her knees tremble and her mane shiver whenever he was close. She watched him settle himself down by the fire pit and take the water off the boil. Quick as a flash, he tipped it into the tea pot, allowing the tea leaves ‘to dance’ as he called it. That always made her smile; the way he would describe making something so simple as a cup of tea sound almost mystical and full of ceremony. Here, in his home, in this dark wooden house in the bamboo forest, every single day felt full of mystery and wonder. It was such an alien place to her; no trappings of office, no austere walls, pillars, banners, or guards outside her bed chambers. No, here there was a simple bed in the corner of the room, far too small for her of course, and a pile of river reeds near the fire. That was where she slept, that was where she had lain as he’d cared for her when she’d first arrived in this world - and it was wonderful. The scent of fresh reeds tantalised and teased her, the aroma of fresh tea invited her - the human pouring it into the cups, the lost pony from Equestria…
 
“Tia?”
 
Celestia sipped her tea. It was wonderful…“Hmm?”
 
“When can I come home?”
 
“Rush…I…” The Princess looked up into the deep eyes of…
 
“Luna…”
 
“Tia? I want to come home, sis. I’m cold, It’s so lonely here…I’m all alone.” The dark mare, her beloved sister’s eyes filled with tears, “I’m frightened Tia! Please…please! I want to come home!”
 
Celestia heart leaped, “Luna!”
 
“Please! I’m so sorry! Please, I just want to come home, don’t leave me! TIA!”
 
“LUNA!” The Princess’s cry echoed around her chambers and she jumped up out of bed in alarm. Her heart was racing and sweat poured off her in sheets. Dear Gods, what a dream! Or…or was it? She closed her eyes and rubbed her face before dragging her weary body over to the wash stand. Lilly had done her job well as always; there were fresh towels, soap and flannels. A good wash would make her feel better. Yawning, Celetia poured out the water and set to work with the cold flannel.
 
A few minutes later, she gave herself a shake and placed the towel back on the washstand. She probably shouldn’t get into bed yet, not with still damp fur, but…but she was just so tired…
 
Fortunately, Lilly had banked the fire and it didn’t take much to get it roaring back into life, radiating its warming light and heat into the room. She could have used magic of course, it would have been simplicity itself to dry herself and sink back into the expansive bed, but that would mean facing those dreams again. She’d have to see the physician in the morning and see if there was something she could use to help her. This was too much, far, far too much…
 
The moon was still full outside, its baleful light showing all beneath its wan light the image of what had become known as ‘the mare in the moon’. She leaned her hooves on the windowsill and gazed up at it, her mind drifting like a leaf upon the river, and letting it take her wherever it would. Hopefully, someday, she would be re-united with her sister, and all the horrors, the pain and suffering of that darkest of times, would be nothing more than a bad memory. She closed her eyes and breathed in the night air, gazing up one last time at the moon,
 
“Goodnight, dearest Luna.”
 
She really would need to try and get some sleep, or she’d be no good for her meeting with the Elder. Such a meeting was likely to be…
 
There was a knock at the door. She groaned; a knock at the door at this hour? The Princess trotted over and opened it to reveal the sleepy looking maid standing in the corridor between the two burly guards,
 
“Yes, Lilly?”
 
The orange coated maid bobbed a curtsy, “Please, Your Majesty, pardon my intrusion at this hour, but you asked to be informed when the royal mage had news?”
 

**************************

 
“Shhh…don’t worry, my little one, we’ll be there soon.”
 
The foal snuggled further into the purple mare’s side. He was growing so fast now; each day his wings were able to bear him aloft just that little bit longer. Soon, she would have trouble catching him, but it didn’t matter, the sky was his element, not hers.
 
“Auntie Nutmeg?” the little foal looked up at her with his big blue eyes, “I’m hungry.”
 
The mare nodded with a smile, taking out a pot of squirrel portions she’d made up for him earlier. It felt…strange, killing and cooking meat for her foal, but it was all he would have. There no mistaking those teeth, the sharp points made short work of his meal, and some day, he would be able to hunt for himself. He would grow big and strong, a son his parents would have been so proud of.
 
Around her, the other ponies spoke in low tones, all of them walking with a single purpose, with one mind…to find a home of their own, a home where they could await the return of their one true Goddess. Rumours had been going around for some time now about the sanctuary far to the north, the place where true followers of the Goddess could find safety and a home to call their own. Nutmeg smiled down at the small life beside her and wiped around his mouth when he’d finished. The way he struggled made her chuckle - he was so endearing!
 
“How is he?” The old mare asked as she trotted up, tapping out her long stemmed pipe on a hoof, “He looks well.”
 
Nutmeg smiled, tucking the blanket in around the midnight blue foal, “He’s well, very well. He’s going to grow up to be big and strong, like his father.”
 
“You never met him did you?” the old mare asked, tapping the foal on the nose and eliciting a giggle.
 
The purple mare shook her head, “No. I heard about him from the others of course, but…no. I wish I had.”
 
“He was magnificent,” the older one continued, “a stallion who braved the fires that others feared, to save his family.” She shook her head, “I saw him that day you know, charging into the burning building. I saw the look in his eyes when he…” she trailed off, “it is a sad tale.”
 
“Do you think he will ever return for his son?” The purple mare asked.
 
“Maybe, if the Goddess wills it to be so.” The older mare tossed her mane, “Have you thought of a name for him yet? We can’t just keep calling him ‘boy’.”
 
Nutmeg looked up at the moon above them and smiled, “Born of two worlds, beneath the light of our Goddess.” She looked down into the foal’s sleeping face. The little fellow looked so peaceful…
 
“I thought I’d name him after his father, Tempest, and our beloved Goddess.” She looked up into the older mare’s eyes, “Tempest Moon.”
 
The mare smiled, “It is a good name, and one that shall remind him of his heritage.” She leaned down and kissed him on the muzzle, “Goddess bless you my child.”
 
Tempest Moon murmured contentedly and snuggled into his auntie’s warm fur. His dreams were full of the wonders of flying, flying so high that he could almost reach the stars…and one day…maybe he would.
 

************************

 
Rush collapsed onto the cold stone floor in a heap, his breathing ragged and laboured. His eyes were squeezed tightly shut as panic and fear tore at his heart.
 
“Starswirl! What’s happening?” Celestia’s cry of alarm echoed around the room.
 
The wizard hurried to the stallion’s side, fixing a set of peculiar looking goggles to his eyes while running an equally strange apparatus over the prostrate brown pony. He lifted his eyelids and stared into the pony’s dilated pupils,
 
“He’s going into shock, we need a physician down here quickly.”
 
“GUARDS!” Celestia burst into the corridor, “Fetch the royal physician, NOW!”
 
The poor startled stallion dropped his spear and tore off at breakneck speed up the corridor, leaving the Princess to hurry back to Rush’s side,
 
“Rush…Rush can you hear me?”
 
“T…Tia…” Rush’s gasps and shaking continued unabated, his legs kicking helplessly.
 
Celestia could see the pain in his contorted features, his muscles twitching under his skin as if snakes were writhing within him,
 
“Starswirl, please!” she pleaded, “Do something!”
 
“I’m not a doctor, Celestia, I’m doing all I can!” The wizard began setting up devices around Rush, shooing the Princess out of the way, “His mind, body, and soul are out of synchronisation. Has he been in this other world his whole life?”
 
“Yes!” Celestia tried desperately to keep herself calm, but it was a losing battle, “He was born over there.”
 
“Equestrian parents?”
 
“Yes!”
 
Starswirl shook his head and adjusted his equipment, “Damn it all! Why didn’t you tell me this?”
 
“I…”
 
“Never mind, we have to do something now or he’s going to die.” He jumped to his hooves, “We have to get him somewhere warm and get fluids into him.”
 
“My chambers!” Celestia replied in a panic, “Help me lift him.”
 
Wrapping the chocolate brown pony in their combined magic, Rush was floated onto the Princess’s back while Starswirl grabbed a set of panniers,
 
“I need to get some things: go! Go now!”
 
In a flurry of hooves, Celestia charged off down the halls, stairs and corridors of the palace, tearing past surprised staff and guards as she headed for her rooms. She could feel Rush’s heart beat, feel his chest heaving against her back, even as she ran for all she was worth. As frightening as the situation was, at least he was still breathing, but she had to get him warm - and fast. She nearly lost her balance when she took the last corner too quickly, flaring her wings to help her right herself as she tore past the startled guards and slammed the doors closed behind her. Weaving magic as quickly as possibly, she pulled out her spare quilts and blankets from the linen cupboard and lay them out in front of the fire before gently lowering the panting stallion onto the makeshift bed. A few more threads of magic and the fire roared into life, filling the room with its heat. Firmly, but carefully, she lifted Rush’s head and tipped a glass of water towards him,
 
“Rush, you have to drink. It’s only water, it’s alright.” She spoke quietly, calmly, but inside, her heart was screaming in panic and distress of her own. Where was Starswirl? Where was the physician? Why were they taking so long?!
 
As if in answer to her unspoken questions, the door flew open, the brown and white royal surgeon hurrying in, closely followed by Starswirl and a floating bag of equipment. The surgeon leaned down and listened to Rush’s chest and shook his head, looking up at Starswirl,
 
“It’s not good, we need to get him stabilised.” He pulled over his bag and began to rummaging inside, “Blackweed root…” he muttered, and pulled out a small jar labelled with a skull and crossbones.
 
“What’s that?” Celestia asked, “Did you say ‘Blackweed’? That’s poison!”
 
“Princess, please.” The surgeon said pouring the contents into a beaker, “I have to do this; if not, his organs will fail and he’ll die.” He reached across and poured some water into the mixture before swirling it with a stick, “Hold his head up and open his mouth.”
 
Rush’s body convulsed and he gasped in a breath as the fluid began to pour in. Suddenly he kicked out, knocking the surgeon away and sending the beaker of mixture into the air. Quick as a flash, the Princess drew her magic around the fluid and the beaker, bringing it to her own mouth. There was one way to do this; she took a deep breath, and then poured the contents into her own mouth. Impropriety or not, she had to do this, or else…no, she wouldn’t think that, not now, not after they’d come so far! Celestia clamped her mouth over Rush’s and allow the concoction to trickle down his throat. He thrashed and gasped, fighting against whatever invisible demons fought within him, but at least she’d managed to do this much. Beside her, Starswirl and the surgeon were hard at work, setting up magical apparatus around the two of them, until finally, Starswirl nodded to himself in satisfaction,
 
“Your Majesty, we have to move out of the magic field and let it do its work.”
 
She looked up, finally noticing the long brass tripods that had been set up around them. Each one was topped with a large white crystal that glowed with a faint inner light. Starswirl held out his hoof to her,
 
“Quickly, the field’s already building.”
 
Celestia reluctantly lowered Rush’s head, stepping around him to the grey unicorn. He smiled at her reassuringly, his voice unusually gentle and caring,
 
“Watch.”
 
The ponies stood in silence, the only other sounds the occasional crackle and pop from the fire and the wheezing of Rush’s chest. He wasn’t thrashing now, so…so maybe the Blackweed was doing its job? Celestia looked to the surgeon who nodded to her confidently. She wished she could have felt the same way. Rush was…Rush…
 
Starswirl laid his hoof on her shoulder and nodded towards the white glow that was building between the crystals. Slowly but steadily, the glow began to envelop the chocolate brown stallion and then, as Celestia watched in mounting horror, she saw them: long strands of white light, like thin serpents dancing around his prostrate form, wriggling and writhing horribly. She felt sickened and horrified simultaneously, but before she could utter a word, Starswirl lifted his staff and began to mumble under his breath. Celestia watched in fascination as the wizard did his work. He reminded her of a snake charmer she’d seen when she was a foal on a diplomatic visit to the griffin kingdom. The way he moved, the way the staff followed the threads movements, or was it the other way around? The way he seemed to be able to command the white threads was fascinating; his face full of intense concentration. As the Princess watched, one by one, the threads began to slow their gyrations and sink back into the stallion’s body, absorbed by his life energy. She recognised some of the words, some of the magic Starswirl was using, but this…this was beyond anything she would have expected a pony to be able to learn. Thanks the Gods he had, and more so, that he was here.
 
The glow from the crystals was dimming now, and with a final incantation, the bearded grey unicorn trotted round and collected his equipment. He nodded to the physician who shook his head in amazement,
 
“Thank you, I’ll take it from here.”
 
Starswirl nodded and yawned, “Well, that’s that then. Now, a good nights sleep will do us all the world of good.” He gave Celestia a wink, “You too young lady.”
 
“Young…?” She was hundreds, if not thousands of years older than he was! The cheeky…
 
“Thank you, Master Starswirl,” she smiled, “before you leave for some well earned rest, may I ask: what did you do?”
 
“Oh, simple enough.” He said scratching an ear, “His soul, body and mind needed to be re-aligned. Wouldn’t normally be a problem I expect, but what with being born on another world and living there all his life, his body had all but forgotten what it really was.” He fished out his pipe from his satchel and began loading it, “The soul remembers though.”
 
“What about those white threads?”
 
Starswirl smiled mysteriously, “Have you ever knitted something?”
 
Celestia nodded; she had once - a scarf. It hadn’t worked out too well and she’d ended up stuffing it in a drawer where it had remained ever since.
 
“If you make a mistake, sometimes you have to unravel your work back to the point before the error and re-knit it properly.” Starswirl shrugged, “There’s always a pattern, you just let the soul guide you.”
 
The Princess shook her head in astonishment.
 
Waving a hoof, the enigmatic wizard walked out of the room in a cloud of grey tobacco smoke,
 
“Good night all!”
 
Celestia sank to her haunches and quickly turned to watch what the physician was doing. Not much as it turned out, he was already packing his things to leave.
 
“You’re going?” she asked in surprise.
 
“I’ve done all I can.” The stallion replied matter-of-factly, “He’s been through a lot, but he’s resting now. You’ll have to make sure he takes in plenty of fluids when he wakes up though, and takes these tablets.” He passed her a jar with bright yellow pills inside, “One, three times a day, until he’s on his hooves.” He clicked his bag closed, “The rest is up to him now.” He bowed low, “By your leave, Your Majesty.”
 
The Princess bowed in reply, watching the door close behind the brown and white stallion, leaving her alone with Rush; alone…in her bedchamber…Giving herself a shake at her scandalous imagination, she moved closer to him and reached out with a hoof, paused and then put it back down. No, it wouldn’t be right, not now. Rush was sick…well, not exactly sick, but weak certainly. Bringing him here had been more of an ordeal for him than she’d thought. In fact, she hadn’t really thought about it at all, she’d just assumed that like her, like his mother even, he would simply ‘change’ when he got here and that would be that. By the Gods she’d been so stupid! Had she been so blinded by her selfish desire to bring him to Equestria that she hadn’t even considered what it would do to him? She’d nearly killed him! A single tear rolled down her cheek and landed on the floor.
 
“Tia…”
 
Her eyes flew open and she leaned down, “Rush? Don’t move, your body’s adjusting to our world. The physician said you need to rest.”
 
Rush slowly opened his eyes, blinking in the firelight. A pair of bright blue orbs as pure as the morning sky, gazed up at the Princess and her heart leaped - they were so blue! The same colour, she realised, as his father’s had been. His mane and tail too, were a rich cream he had inherited from his mother. Carefully, she reached down and helped him take a sip of his water. He gave her a weak smile,
 
“Tia, where?”
 
“You’re in the palace, in my room.”
 
He seemed to be struggling with something internally, squeezing his eyes shut as if in pain and then looked away,
 
“My body…it feels wrong…”
 
“You’ve been in the human world all your life, Rush.” Celestia explained gently, “It will take a little time for you to adjust to your new life here.”
 
He was like a newborn foal: unsure, unsteady, and yet so full of promise. She couldn’t but smile, and reached down to brush some stray hairs from his muzzle.
 
“My…my hands…”
 
“Hmm?” Celestia looked down at his legs, “I don’t know, I never had them, but your hooves look just fine.”
 
Rush licked his lips. By the Gods, everything felt so strange, so absolutely terrifying. His hands, his arms, his legs, every single part of him, was wrong…and yet…no, not ‘wrong’, that wasn’t the word. No, he felt…’alien’. Was this how he was meant to be?
 
“Rush, are you in pain?” Celestia asked stroking his mane, “I can ask the physician to fetch you something.”
 
The chocolate brown pony shook his head, “No, I’m not it pain, just…I don’t know…” he licked his lips, “Even my mouth feels funny.” He stuck his tongue out and licked his nose, making Celestia’s eyes go wide in amusement. She couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight! The sound of her mirth and the gleam in those beautiful purple eyes, eased the turmoil in Rush’s heart. Despite how strange everything was, the feel of her hooves against his body seemed to make his fear melt away as though it had never been. He took a deep breath, the scent of the Princess tantalising his nostrils so much more intensely than it had in his world. He huffed…this was his world, this, the one in his dreams, it was… He shifted a foreleg, trying to find his balance. Celestia quickly lay a hoof on him,
 
“Rush, please, don’t try to stand just yet, give yourself…”
 
Rush snorted loudly, “I have to.” He look into her eyes with such conviction, she knew that there was little she could do to stop him. Secretly, she wanted to see him stand, but, was it too soon?
 
“Damn it!” Rush flailed around, trying to get his legs under him and put his arms out and push, but…why were…”Bloody hell!” his head thumped off the bedding and he started to feel giddy.
 
“Shhh…” Celestia lay her hoof upon him, “Here, let me show you.”
 
Rush watched as the Princess moved around to lay down before him. She smiled encouragingly, “Pull your hind legs under you like this…”
 
He did so, feeling the odd sensation of joints and muscles that were almost back to front. In fact…were they? He gave himself a mental shake and concentrated on what he was being shown.
 
“Good.” Celestia nodded, “Now, sit upright with your forelegs out in front of you.”
 
Rush took a breath and stretched. His arms, or rather ‘forelegs’, reached out and he found, with his rear hooves and legs tucked under himself, he actually felt quite comfortable - it was easier to breath too.
 
“Now, push yourself up with your forelegs, one at a time.” She pushed herself back up until she was sitting on her haunches, “You’ll feel a balance there, just enough so you feel comfy.” She gave him a…did she wink at him?
 
Rush pushed. That was simply enough, apart from feeling like he wanted to stretch his fingers out…if he’d had any.
 
Celestia gave her mane a shake, drawing his attention back to her, “Ready?”
 
He nodded.
 
“Now, rock forward a little, and push with your hind legs until you’re up.” The Princess rose elegantly from the floor, “Like that.”
 
Rush gritted his teeth. Dear Gods, even they felt weird! With a deep breath he pushed back with his hind legs, the unfamiliar things pushing him up and…
 
“Gah!”
 
Horribly, the world lurched around him, his stomach heaved and he lost his balance completely. He staggered sideways, trying to catch himself, but his centre of gravity here was completely different to what he was used to. Great Gods, how was he ever going to get used to this!?
 
Forelegs caught him, the white form of the Princess appearing before him, those large eyes gazing into his encouragingly, “Calm…” she said quietly, “Calm…”
 
Rush’s heart was thundering, his legs shaking like jelly. Calm? He felt like he wanted to scream! And now…was she laughing at him? Dear Gods, she was! Rush frowned,
 
“It’s not funny!” he snapped, “It’s…AGH!”
 
He stumbled again, caught once more by the alicorn Princess. Her forelegs stopped him from launching himself into the fireplace,
 
“Whoa there!” she giggled, “Nearly lost you that time.”
 
“Tia! Please!” Rush gasped, but the Princess kept shaking with barely contained laughter. She suddenly sat back on her haunches and leaned her muzzle against him,
 
“Oh Rush!” she said wiping the tears from her eyes, “You look like a newborn foal! It’s so adorable!”
 
He didn’t know what to say, but he certainly wouldn’t describe his current situation as adorable!
 
Celestia lifted his chin with her hoof, “Listen to your heart. Remember the memories of running, of the grass on the hillside and the sun high in the sky.”
 
Rush closed his eyes.
 
“Can you see it? Can you feel the wind in your mane, the water sparkling in the river? It’s waiting for you Rush, it’s all here…” The Princess leaned closer, the warmth from her making his heart race, “you’re home.”
 
“I’m…I’m home?” Rush blinked, a stray tear rolling down his face. And then, for the first time, he was truly able to take in his surroundings: the bed, the table and chairs, the cupboards, the roaring fire, and the beautiful creature standing before him. He’d dreamed of this, he’d wanted so much to be here, with her. He reached a hoof up to his face and stared at it,
 
“I’m…a pony…”
 
“An earth pony, yes.” Celestia smiled, “A very beautiful earth pony.”
 
Rush snorted, “I’ll take your word for that.”
 
Rolling her eyes, the Princess pointed to the mirror above the fireplace, “See for yourself.”
 
The chocolate brown stallion with the cream mane and blue eyes stared back at him. He blinked. The pony in the mirror blinked. He flicked his ear. The mirror pony flicked his ear. Rush pawed at his muzzle and shook his head in amazement,
 
“Willow…”
 
“You have her colouring,” Celestia said walking up beside him, “and you father’s eyes.”
 
Rush felt a sudden surge of emotion. Feelings he’d kept locked away for so long; memories, dreams, hopes, all of it, flooded his senses. Tears filled his eyes, rolling down his cheeks and dropped to the floor like rain. In embarrassment, he tried to look away, but Celestia took his muzzle in her hooves and placed a kiss upon his forehead,
 
“It’s alright, my little one, don’t hide how you feel.” She rubbed her muzzle against his, her voice so soft and gentle, “You’re home now.”
 
Rush couldn’t speak; the years of emptiness, the years of being alone in the forest - it all felt like a dream, a dream he was only just now waking up from. Gingerly, he reached up a foreleg and tentatively touched the Princess’s mane. She lifted his hoof with hers, kissing it and holding it against her neck with that smile, the smile that melted his heart.
 
“I missed you.” he said, “Every day, every week, every month that went by, I…I always…”
 
Celestia nodded, “I know.” She shuddered, “I wanted this so much, to be here, with you.”
 
Rush pushed into her, “I tried to tell you, I wanted to, but…”
 
“You can tell me now.” Celestia’s cheeks flushed pink, her voice little more than the barest whisper “…If you like.”
 
Opening his mouth, Rush paused, scratching his muzzle and turned beet red, “I…that is, um…”
 
Grinning, Celestia lifted his muzzle, “Stallions…” she murmured and brought her lips to his. Rush closed his eyes and felt the softness of the Princess against him, her warm and feminine fragrance nearly sending him to his knees. Carefully, he reached up and drew her into him.
 
Sometimes, he thought to himself, dreams really can come true.
 

FIN